


Moonlight [Whumptober 2020]

by chemically_imbalanced_romance



Series: Whumptober 2020/Cult AU [27]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: (not shot), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Blood and Injury, Cults, Gaslighting, Gen, Guns, Humiliation, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Knives, M/M, Manipulation, Mild Gore, Multi, Restraints, Violence, Whump, a person in a cage, let me know if I missed anything, treating people like property
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:09:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27255475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chemically_imbalanced_romance/pseuds/chemically_imbalanced_romance
Summary: [Whumptober 2020 Day 27; Cult AU] The boys are presented with an opportunity.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Series: Whumptober 2020/Cult AU [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947007
Comments: 6
Kudos: 50
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Moonlight [Whumptober 2020]

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: No. 27: Ok, Who Had Natural Disasters On Their 2020 Bingo Card? [Power Outage]

_ October 23rd. 11:48 pm.  _

Thunder boomed outside. 

Logan and Janus gripped onto each other. Neither Bates nor Styx had been back  **s** ince bringing Logan in. Logan had stayed focused on exercising. As much as Janus insisted he shouldn’t wear himself out, he spent every moment he could building up his endurance and upper body strength. 

The storm started as a drizzle around noon, then the wind came in, knocking the droplets against the narrow windows at the top of their wall. Around sundown, the first lightning strikes came. Logan stood on one of the desks and a box to peek out the window. 

“God, there’s so many fuckin’ guards,” he snapped. “He fucking doubled his forces since we left.” 

“Yeah, and they’re more loyal than we ever were.” Janus shifted uncomfortably. As much as they all hated it, Remus made sure to lock Janus back up every time he left. “I think he started them at a younger age. Probably around the time we were picked up, just brought in slower.”

“I’m going to kill that man,” he said lowly. 

Logan eventually settled back next to Janus. It was a few hours later when the hanging light, just a bulb and some wire, flickered and then shorted. Logan gripped Janus’ hand as the darkness swallowed them. 

They breathed heavily. Bates was shameless in the light. What would he do when no one could see? 

The door slammed open. Janus bit back a scream. A cone of light streamed through. Logan held his hands up and Janus flinched away from the brightness. 

“It’s time to go.”

Remus pulled Janus’ chains off and grabbed his and Logan’s hands. 

“Remus?” Janus stumbled after him. “Are you sure?”

“There’s not a lot of time, just follow me!” 

Janus squeezed his eyes shut and let himself be dragged alone. Part of him wanted to curl back into the darkness, lay low and let whatever would happen happen, rather than deal with the punishment of being found. 

And to think, he was the one to lead the escape in the first place. 

What happened to him?

“STOP!” 

Janus’ vision blurred, his mind freezing. Remus and Logan tugged at his arm desperately but he couldn’t move. 

_ “Janus,”  _ Remus begged. 

“Remus?” The guard came close enough in the black for the moonlight to highlight one side, just enough to tell where they stood. Their gun rustled as they slid it in their holster. “Is that Janus and Logan with you?” 

“Please, I’m sorry!” Janus wailed. He trembled, thrashing against Remus’ grip. “Please, don’t!”

It took Remus a moment to realize Janus was talking to him. 

Logan tugged on Janus’ other arm. “Let go of us!” He snarled. 

“Orders from Bates,” Remus said weakly. “You heard of what happened when they picked this one up?”

“Yeah…” They sighed solemnly. “I did. Be careful in the dark. I almost shot you.”

Remus laughed nervously. “You be careful with that trigger. I’m on a time limit, though, so I’ll see you later.” 

“Bye, Remus.” 

Janus dug his heels in as Remus dragged him down the hall. As soon as they turned the corner, they broke back into a sprint, flying through the corridors. Remus dropped their hands and threw up a classroom door. 

Inside, an oil lantern lit up the room. Just on the edge of the glow was Virgil’s cage, the small boy himself curled up painfully, his pale skin littered in marks. Styx jumped to his feet and dropped his book, eyes wide. 

“Remus? What are you-”

Remus snatched the lantern and slammed it in the side of Styx’s face. The glass shattered as Styx screamed. Remus lifted it up again, and brought it down hard on his head. He crumpled to the ground. 

Janus ran to the cage and Remus handed him the key. As soon as he got it open, Virgil launched out and curled into Janus’ lap. 

“We don’t have time, it’s okay,” Janus whispered. He kissed Virgil’s head quickly and stood with Virgil in his arms. 

Remus shrugged his jacket off and tossed it over Virgil’s bare body. Janus held it securely and followed him back into the hall. 

Logan breathed a sigh of relief. “Let’s go. Some people rushed by talking, Bates ordered them to check on us.” 

“They didn’t see you?” Remus asked in panic. 

“No. Let’s go.” 

They didn’t realize Remus was taking them deeper into the school until they reached the centre garden, where Virgil had his allergic reaction. Janus pulled him closer to his chest. 

“We’re leaving?” Virgil whispered. 

“Yes. Yes, we’re leaving.” 

They crossed the garden and headed back into the school. 

“Almost there,” Remus whispered. 

They passed through the art wing, broken sculptures and cracked frames littering the ground. A few pieces still hung, but were too water damaged and dust-coated to be understood. 

“Remus.”

They stopped in front of a large window. Moonlight glittered over them. A figure stood several feet out, staring at them. 

Remus held out his arms, shielding the boys behind him. “Why does it matter if we leave? How does that hurt you?” 

“Because I want you,” he knife caught a gleam of light, “and you’re mine.” 

He charged. Janus stumbled back with Virgil, and Remus leapt to the side, but Logan met Bates’ pace. They grunted as Logan slammed into him, his grip holding Bates’ hand and knife in the air. Logan pushed, and Bates fumbled back, before Bates took Logan’s legs out from under him. Bates raised the knife. 

Remus leapt. Logan scrambled to his feet, while Bates and Remus hit the ground. Janus hurried to set Virgil down and help Logan pull Remus up. A scuffle, a fumble, and a gasp with a slice— 

Bates’ face crumpled in pain. Remus pulled the red blade out of Bates’ side, his hand covered in blood. He shoved the knife in Logan’s hand. Pale and shaky, he pulled his flannel off, revealing his sweat-coated skin as he tied it tight around his waist. 

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Bates; the blood pooling around him; growing and growing. 

Virgil grabbed Remus’ clean hand. “We need to go,” he rasped. 

Despite insisting he was fine, Virgil allowed Janus to scoop him back up and carry him. They made it through the rest of Remus’ path without any more interruptions. The burst outside, and didn’t stop until they found the cut in the fence Remus planted weeks ago, and slipped through. No one was around when they plunged into the treeline. 

And they were out. The moon shone on them unobstructed, and they could go anywhere. 


End file.
